27 CFR 7.63 consolidates the mandatory label information for malt beverages regulated under the Federal Alcohol Administration (FAA) Act. It is the section TTB label specialists check first at COLA review, and the section most malt beverage label rejections trace back to. Two features make it trickier than its short length suggests: alcohol content is on the mandatory list only conditionally, and the whole section applies to a given shipment only through Part 7's unusual state-law trigger.

The Five Mandatory Items — § 7.63(a)

Under § 7.63(a), malt beverage containers must bear a label or labels (as defined in § 7.61(a)) containing the following:

The item 3 nuance deserves emphasis. A conventional beer, brewed from malted barley and hops with no alcohol-bearing additives, is not federally required to state its ABV at all — alcohol content is optional under § 7.65 unless state law says otherwise. The mandatory trigger in § 7.63(a)(3) fires when any of the product's alcohol comes from added nonbeverage flavors or other added nonbeverage ingredients containing alcohol, hops extract excepted. That is the classic flavored malt beverage (FMB) fact pattern: a malt base plus flavor extracts carried in alcohol. If your flavor house's spec sheet shows an ethanol carrier, your label just acquired a mandatory ABV statement.

The Four Conditional Ingredient Disclosures — § 7.63(b)

Section 7.63(b) requires four ingredient disclosures, each stated "without the inclusion of any additional information as part of the statement":

• FD&C Yellow No. 5 — if the coloring material is present, a statement such as "FD&C Yellow No. 5" or "Contains FD&C Yellow No. 5"

• Cochineal extract or carmine — a statement using the respective common or usual name, such as "contains cochineal extract" or "contains carmine" (applicable to products removed from bottling premises or customs custody on or after April 16, 2013)

• Sulfites — if the product contains 10 or more parts per million of sulfur dioxide or other sulfiting agents measured as total sulfur dioxide, a statement such as "Contains sulfites," "Contains (a) sulfiting agent(s)," or one naming the specific agent; the spellings "sulphites" and "sulphiting" are acceptable

• Aspartame — the capital-letter statement "PHENYLKETONURICS: CONTAINS PHENYLALANINE.", which must appear in capital letters, separate and apart from all other information

These disclosures catch brewers off guard because they often enter the product through supplier inputs rather than the brewhouse: sulfites via fruit juices and concentrates, carmine and Yellow No. 5 via colored flavor systems, aspartame via low-calorie flavor blends. Note that § 7.147(b) allows the Yellow No. 5 and carmine/cochineal disclosures to appear either within a specialty product's statement of composition or elsewhere on the label — but the aspartame warning always stands alone.

Where Mandatory Information May Appear — §§ 7.51–7.53, 7.61

Part 7 pairs the what of § 7.63 with placement and legibility standards:

• What counts as a "label" (§ 7.61(a)): affixed material of any kind; information etched, engraved, branded, stenciled, painted, or printed directly on the container; net contents and name and address (only) blown, embossed, or molded into the container; and keg collars or tap covers, but only for mandatory information not repeated on an affixed label. Information on the container's bottom surface or on caps, corks, and closures does not satisfy mandatory labeling requirements (§ 7.61(b))

• Firmly affixed (§ 7.51): labels that are not integral to the container must not be removable without thorough application of water or other solvents, with special rules for keg collars and tap covers on kegs of 5.16 gallons or more

• Legibility and contrast (§ 7.52): mandatory information must be readily legible under ordinary conditions, generally separate and apart from other information, and in a color contrasting with its background

• Type size (§ 7.53): minimum 2 millimeters on containers over one-half pint, 1 millimeter on containers of one-half pint or less — and alcohol content statements additionally carry maximum sizes (3 mm at 40 fl oz or less, 4 mm above 40 fl oz)

When § 7.63 Applies at All — the § 7.21(b) State-Law Trigger

Part 7 has the strangest applicability rule of the three FAA Act commodity parts. Under 27 CFR 7.21(b), a bottler shipping malt beverages into a state needs a COLA only if that state's laws or regulations require all malt beverages sold there to be labeled in conformity with subparts D through I of Part 7 — either by adopting those subparts in their entirety or by imposing requirements identical in effect. Even where the COLA requirement does not attach, §§ 7.3 and 7.4 can still make the substantive rules (including § 7.63) apply to the extent the destination state has similar laws. Because the overwhelming majority of states have conforming laws, national brands treat § 7.63 and the COLA as effectively universal — but purely intrastate sellers, and shipments into the few non-conforming states, sit in a genuinely different legal posture. And regardless of state law, the GOVERNMENT WARNING under 27 CFR Part 16 applies federally to every alcoholic beverage at 0.5% ABV or more.

How Truli Helps with Mandatory Statement Compliance

• Five-item completeness checks: Truli's AI label scans verify brand name, class designation, name and address, and net contents against § 7.63(a), and detect when the flavored-alcohol trigger makes ABV mandatory under § 7.63(a)(3)

• Ingredient disclosure detection: Truli cross-references formulation and ingredient data to flag missing sulfite, FD&C Yellow No. 5, carmine/cochineal, and aspartame phenylalanine statements — including the capital-letter, stand-alone formatting of the PKU warning

• Placement and legibility review: scans check contrast, separate-and-apart presentation, and type-size compliance under §§ 7.52–7.53 so labels are COLA-ready before submission

• Jurisdiction routing for the alcohol vertical: Truli distinguishes Part 7 malt beverages from FDA-labeled beers (sugar-brewed seltzers, no-barley brews) and applies the correct mandatory-statement rulebook, citing the governing section on every finding

Related Regulations

• 27 CFR Part 7 — TTB Malt Beverage Labeling Requirements — The parent guide to the full malt beverage labeling part

• 27 CFR 7.65 — Malt Beverage Alcohol Content Statements — Format, tolerance, and descriptor rules for the ABV statement

• 27 CFR 7.141–7.142 — Malt Beverage Class and Type Designations — How to satisfy the class/type item on the mandatory list

• 27 CFR Part 16 — Health Warning Statement — The GOVERNMENT WARNING that applies regardless of the state-law trigger

• 27 CFR Part 13 — COLA Label Approval — The approval process where § 7.63 compliance is checked

Frequently Asked Questions

Does my standard lager need an alcohol content statement under § 7.63?
Not federally. Alcohol content appears on the § 7.63(a) mandatory list only for malt beverages containing alcohol derived from added nonbeverage flavors or other added nonbeverage ingredients (other than hops extract) containing alcohol. A conventionally brewed lager states ABV optionally under § 7.65 — though your state may require it, and TTB's pending Alcohol Facts proposal would make it mandatory if finalized.

My fruit ale uses a juice concentrate with preservatives — do I need a sulfite statement?
If the finished malt beverage contains 10 ppm or more of sulfur dioxide or other sulfiting agents measured as total sulfur dioxide, yes — § 7.63(b)(3) requires a statement such as "Contains sulfites." Sulfites carried in through juices, concentrates, and flavor systems count, so many brewers test finished product rather than rely on supplier declarations alone.

Can I put the net contents on the bottom of the can?
No. Under § 7.61(b), information on the bottom surface of the container does not satisfy mandatory labeling requirements. Net contents may, however, be blown, embossed, or molded into the container as part of manufacturing under § 7.63(a)(5), or appear on any qualifying label surface meeting the §§ 7.51–7.53 standards.

A note from Truli: Truli is not a law firm, and this article does not constitute or contain legal advice or create an attorney-client relationship. When determining your obligations and compliance with respect to relevant laws and regulations, you should consult a licensed attorney.

Last updated: August 2026. Reflects 27 CFR 7.63 as of August 2026. Truli monitors TTB rulemaking and enforcement. Book a demo to see how.